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The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines issued a statement on “the moral and social crisis caused by online gambling.”

The prelates described online gambling as “a new plague or virus that destroys individuals, families, and society.” Online gambling, they said, is “no longer a problem for individuals. It is a public health crisis in our society, just like drugs, alcohol, and other types of addiction.”

In their statement, the bishops cited the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on gambling (n. 2413).

Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in the Pontifical Parish of St. Thomas of Villanova at Castel Gandolfo on July 13 and preached on the parable of the Good Samaritan.

“The parable speaks to us first about God’s way of seeing us, so that we in turn can learn how to see situations and people with his eyes, so full of love and compassion,” Pope Leo preached. “The Good Samaritan is really a figure of Jesus, the eternal Son whom the Father sent into our history precisely because he regarded humanity with compassion and did not walk by.”

The Pope concluded:

Looking without walking by, halting the frantic pace of our lives, allowing the lives of others, whoever they may be, with their needs and troubles, to touch our heart. That is what makes us neighbors to one another, what generates true fraternity and breaks down walls and barriers. In the end, love prevails, and proves more powerful than evil and death.

Dear friends, let us look to Christ, the Good Samaritan. Let us listen again today to his voice. For he says to each of us, “Go and do likewise.”

Reflecting on Luke 10:25-27, the beginning verses of the Gospel reading of the day, Pope Leo XIV said on July 13 that “Jesus tells us that, in order to receive God’s gift [of eternal life], we must do his will. It is written in the Law: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”

“Brothers and sisters, let us look to Jesus,” the Pope told pilgrims who had gathered in Castel Gandolfo for his Sunday Angelus address. “He shows us the meaning of authentic love for God and for others. It is a love that is generous, not possessive; a love that forgives without question; a love that reaches out and never abandons others.”

“Each of us can and should become a neighbor to all whom we meet,” the Pope continued. “Imitating the example of Jesus, the Saviour of the world, we too are called to bring consolation and hope, above all to those who are experiencing discouragement and disappointment.”

Pope Leo XIV received participants in the general chapters of eight religious institutes on July 12 and encouraged them to “think on a large scale, as unique pieces of a plan that exceeds you and involves you beyond your own expectations.”

This plan, Pope Leo explained, is “the plan of salvation with which God wants to bring all of humanity back to himself, as one big family.”

“This is the spirit in which your Institutes were born, and this is the perspective in which to place every effort, so that it may contribute, through small lights, to spreading over the whole earth the light of Christ, which never dims,” the Pope added.